U.S. Stage 5 Noise Rules Go Into Effect December 31

The FAA is adopting new Stage 5 noise standards for newly certified subsonic jet and transport category airplanes. This applies to any entity submitting an application for a new airplane type design with an mtow of 121,254 pounds or more starting on Dec. 31, 2017; or with an mtow of less than 121,254 pounds on or after Dec. 31, 2020.

Seven comments were received on the new limits when they were published as a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) in January 2016. Two commenters supported the rule as proposed, four suggested technical changes to the rule and one identified a typographical error in the NPRM. The Boeing Company and Airlines for America (A4A) supported all aspects of the proposal.

The Los Angeles International Airport/Community Roundtable and the city of Culver City, California, requested that the FAA include a phase-out of existing Stage 3 airplanes as part of the adoption of the new Stage 5 noise standards. However, the FAA said it considers this request to be “beyond the scope of the proposed rule and does not provide any basis to attach an operational restriction.”

The agency further emphasized that the Stage 5 rule is “intended only for new aircraft" and “should not be interpreted as signaling the start of an action aimed at phasing out the existing noise standards that apply to the production or operation of current models.”